9/14 Season Three, Episode 21: Three Little Spies-Scarecrow and Mrs King

Night time and back at the warehouse.. We find Pam Jentry closing the truck doors.. and Rajmand exiting the truck. I’m guessing Rajmand is from Pakistan- as Billy said something about them wanting the detonators didn’t he?

Pam Jentry: Is that the last detonator?Rajmand: All nine are on the truck.[all nine are being shipped together? My goodness.. that will make it easy on the team to stop them! ]Pam Jentry: You’re sure they’re secure?Rajmand: Double-cushioned and airtight. (They close the doors)Pam Jentry: Right. This seal’s for that door. Rajmand: Heh. Excellent work. As good as the real custom seals. (They both put the seals on each door lock)Pam Jentry: That’s what I’m paid for…[Ah, so Pam is being paid by Rajmand…]…I’ll be in the truck at 8:15. The caravan leaves at 8:30. Rajmand: I’ll be waiting.Pam Jentry: The car?Rajmand: It is already in position. [Is it just me or are these baddies a great big yawn? I mean after Sallee eyes – this is all a bit blah by comparison!]Pam Jentry: Great. Well, tomorrow at this time your country’s gonna have it’s killing teeth, Rajmand. Rajmand: And you will be a very rich lady.(they shake hands) Pam Jentry: Peace on earth.(Pam leaves) [No doubt content with her contribution to world peace ]
Cue an evil baddie close up..And the scene ends there.. Yawn!

The next morning we see Lee and Amanda pull up in front of Skylar’s mansion. So strange to see them in neither the station wagon nor corvette! As they pull up, Skylar is seen coming out of his home, closely followed by a hair spray wielding lady.Randall Skylar: Candy baby, stop with the hair spray. It makes my teeth itch. [Candy baby?! Candy Baby??!!!!!! Oh my gosh!!!!!! It’s so close to Randy Baby!!! do you think this is a deliberate throw back to Lee’s old ways?]Lee: Skylar.Randall Skylar: Later, dude. Hey, it’s my press buddy, man……How you doing? You’re missing the most important gig of my life. Today, the Food for Flight caravan takes off at 8:30. It’s gonna blow your mind.[Ummm sooooo Pam put it forward and now there is no protest from him about it??? I thought the PR was a really big deal?!!! me confused.. ]Lee: I’m hip…[Rofl!! No Lee, you ain’t! ]…Where is Pam Jentry?Randall Skylar: Please, please,.…Ms Machiavelli? Ah, she’s flown the coop.[eh?? so it’s been pushed forward, he’s going along with it, and she’s no longer involved?? why then doesn’t he put it off a few days? oh whatev.]Amanda: Where did she go? Randall Skylar: Crazy, I mean like totally bizarre.…First, she pushes the departure date up to this morning after I told her, like, absolutely no way.[rofl. He is quite the wimp isn’t he.. even when it comes standing up for his PR opportunity!]…And then she conveniently forgets to clue me to the change……It’s very weird. The woman is on some heavy-duty power trip. What can I tell you? [Whoa. Heavy Man!]Lee: Everything that you know about her.(Lee holds up his ID. No longer a press buddy!)Randall Skylar: Whoa!…..Candy, in the car…(Candy leaves)…What’s happening man? Lee: Pam Jentry is using Food for Flight to smuggle nuclear detonators out of the country. Randall Skylar: Far out.[LOL Skylar is so far always very exaggerated in his speech.. and here, when something is really extreme he sounds quite flat! Hilarious!!! ]Lee: Heh?Randall Skylar: Now that’s a power trip!Lee reacts silently to this reaction. Amanda doesn’t seem to react. She’s pretty focused.

Moving on, we join all the truck drivers readying themselves for the caravan.Is that Duffy?! Frank Duffy??!!
We see Pam sneak onto truck 52.

We see a stage being set up.We see Pam hide behind the driver seat of truck 52..She waits.. with some kind of weapon in her hand. A driver enters truck 52.

Pam attacks him and stabs him with a knife in the chest. Oh my.. I hope that’s a bendy knife!Pretty brutal for smk! Now that’s a power trip!
On the stage, Skylar appears to cheers from the crowd. LOL.. it seems like a pretty small crowd!
Live Aid it ain’t! I guess this is because Pam moved up the date..

Randall Skylar: Morning. And welcome to the most important event since the invention of the electric guitar…[rofl!] …Today, Food for Flight takes off on its biggest and best blow out ever……Sending food, medical supplies and tons of love…[lol. that guys appears to be wearing half a tie.. and whooo hooo! love the silver boots! this crowd is hip man!]…to our brothers and sisters around the world. Crowd: Skylar. Skylar. Skylar!Randall Skylar: No, No, don’t applaud me! I am just a conduit for your energy, your love, your vibes…[Yeah dude, that’s cool.. but is it just me or is all this going on a bit long and all seem a lot like some padding has gone on? get on with it!]…Go on, give yourselves a hand. .. Put your hands together and know that Randall Skylar loves each and every one of you. Enough of the love!More shots of the crowd this time cheering themselves or something.

I think I’ll pause here for now.. this is not exactly riveting stuff is it. But I don’t want to rush.. so I’ll keep it short and sweet..
I’m feeling a little uninspired here! Hopefully your guys can share some interesting thoughts about this part of the ep so far!

I cannot believe how quickly I’ve gotten behind again. I was thinking that the whole baddie conversation as well as major portions of this episode are kind of a snooze fest. However, there are some interesting little gems in here. The Lee and Amanda moments are definitely gems, of course. But I think a larger part of this episode is about change and moving forward and what all of that is going to look like down the road. I think some of the darker tones have come along the deeper Amanda has gotten into the Agency. There was some dark stuff in the beginning, but Lee tried to act as a buffer zone and keep her as protected as possible and away from danger as much as possible. As Amanda has become more and more involved she is having to deal with and see much darker things. In some ways we are seeing some things from Amanda’s perspective and how much her life has changed. We definitely are not seeing her home life or kids as much as we used to. There’s more, but I’ll elaborate more in the tag.

I’d just like to say that one of the things that I admire about SMK baddies, even the corniest ones, is that they frequently have a very hands-on management style. They don’t just sit back in some cushy office, hiring anonymous thugs to do their work for them, they frequently take an active, participatory role in their own evil plots. It’s that kind of involvement that both proves their dedication and makes them easier to catch. Kudos!

I’m with you iwsod, this episode fell very flat for me also, especially after the last episode. I find Skylar annoying, Pam is a yawn as a baddie, and the supposed tension of the 3 spies having to work together is, meh. But, on the plus side we have Lee admitting that he’s glad Amanda’s there and we have Amanda asserting herself to the charity role.

I’m with you iwsod, this episode fell very flat for me also, especially after the last episode.

Oh my gosh. You read my mind.. I’ve said something along those lines in the last post for this ep. so will say no more for now.. but – did want to say a huge thanks to you Melissa R for transcribing this episode!!!

LOL!
I knew it! I always knew it!
Lee isn’t the only guy who tells ‘his’ girl to get into the car…

And YESSS!
Candy Baby sounds a little too close to Randy Baby for my comfort but I don’t think this is a deliberate throw back to Lee’s old ways. I think it ‘s more from the ironic/satyr department we were talking about earlier.

Note: I haven’t rewatched this ep yet, so I mighy be totally wrong in my comment here… I really should go and watch this one…

Im not feeling any love for this episode, just not digging it (I’m channelling my inner Skyler ☺). I dislike Skyler as a phoney self seeker but think that portrayal of him is realistic and refreshingly nuanced for the era. (Although I could be wrong about the portrayal of rock stars in the 80’s -)
I was trying to work out why this episode wasn’t working for me but can’t quite put my finger o it. The nuclear detonator plot is perhaps a bit heavy and is handled with a very heavy hand so it feels ponderous (imo). SMK works better when its light and funny (again imo). I miss the lightness and humour of the typical L&A interaction.
dont mind Petrovitch as much as the rest of you –
really awed by Bjo noticing Candy’s previous incarnation

I dislike Skyler as a phoney self seeker but think that portrayal of him is realistic and refreshingly nuanced for the era.

I agree Skylar is a phoney. but, he knows it tee heee.. and as Raffie suggested, it’s part of the ‘show’. I agree too that the 80s rock star feed the world type is interesting to explore 🙂

I was trying to work out why this episode wasn’t working for me but can’t quite put my finger o it.

Michele you think along similar lines to myself. If it’s not working we like to try and figure out why 🙂
I agree, about the premise being heavy handed – I think early smk would have played this for laughs – humours satire, but in this ep the plot seems to be taking itself too seriously.
Stabbing the truck driver like that would never have happened in season 1 – but smk seems to want to be more brutal and ‘real’ I know at times I tend to cry ‘as if!!’ but when it’s done with humour it’s half the fun of the show!
Hope I’m making sense!

I think there are a number of elements in this ep that, for me, don’t really work!
As I just commented in reply to Raffie and learjet, the plot doesn’t fit together in terms of how things play out. It is contradictory and doesn’t flow.
If Pam decided to go ahead and move the caravan forward 2 days regardless of what skylar had planned and wanted without his knowledge, how is it on the day Skylar is playing along and knows about it? Why would he do that, wouldn’t he just change it back?
And once they know about smuggling detonators, why does the caravan even start?! Does Skylar want it to get out that he didn’t stop detonators from being smuggled? he would stop things until Pam or the detonators was found.
I think the writers are trying hard to up the tension and the drama.. while bringing us obscure (unfunny IMHO) satire about feeding the world and rock stars..but it doesn’t fit together.
Lee’s initial over the top rantings about how Petrovich and Chang are jackals just doesn’t play out for me or flow.. (but hey maybe this is all just me, we can disagree!)
Uping the tension and drama seems contrived – Senator’s wives are involved? whoooooo drama!!!!
Billy won’t or can’t stop the planes? whoooooo tension!!!
Petrovich (the toughie top Russian spy) is unhappy someone tried to run him over? big deal..

The worst monstrosity of all in this ep??: Chang looks better than Lee does!!! gah!!!!!!
What a crazy mixed up world this ep is! tee hee..

Okay okay, I won’t go on [anymore than I already have 😉 ] – I seem to be regularly scratching my head with this ep it just doesn’t flow as a whole.

At this point I’m thinking: the Lee/Amanda scene on the couch where Lee says a friendly face helps?
Makes this episode! and for that scene alone, for me it is worth watching!
I guess I’ll keep watching and hope to find some further goodies to add to the reasons to watch list.

“Stabbing the truck driver like that would never have happened in season 1 – but smk seems to want to be more brutal and ‘real’ I know at times I tend to cry ‘as if!!’ but when it’s done with humour it’s half the fun of the show!”

It’s an interesting point. We had some unpleasant scenes in S1 … Betty Bodine’s body being tossed into a dumpster (if I’m remembering the scene correctly) in TGTNeighborhood, or in RemembranceOTP there is the body hanging from the agency ceiling, in ServiceAAB the informant is run down by the ice cream truck, in the Magic Bus the soft-hearted baddie is disposed of with a gunshot, but I don’t think we see it happen, do we?… so in all these cases the actual grisly act is left to the imagination. Not as graphic, but still (in my mind at least) just as chilling… I definitely prefer the S1 approach.

yep! lol I was thinking that too. here it looks like we get the real deal! bring back the bendy knife rofl!

okay the bendy knife was not deliberate, but in that scene where Lee is stabbed in the car – the violence is obscured and not in our face.
Firstly, it’s dark and hard to make out the bendy knife (rofl), and secondly, it doesn’t clearly show if Lee was stabbed and where (I think), we know there was a scuffle and he got hurt. but are unsure of the result.
With our baddie Pammy – the result is clear. Okay I’ll give it to smk that they didn’t show blood – they still don’t show blood!!!

LOL if we see loads of blood, it’s likely someone trying to sell a fake injury or death haaaaa..

HI Raffie, great to see it’s not one sided 😉 your comments about this ep have been making me think too 🙂

I agree with you, season 1 there was violence but it more PG, obscure and less in your face. There could be quite gruesome concepts in season 1. yeah, the Service above and beyond death of the informant is a prime example of how it was done so well in season 1:
– it was an ice cream truck the baddies had chosen to run him over with (lol! so this is a quirky silly element)
– the way it was shot is quite cartoony with him just standing there with that close up of the truck going straight for him.
– we don’t see the violence, the scene ends just as it’s about to happen..
3 reasons I can think of that the gruesome death had a different vibe to what we are beginning to see in smk.. I don’t see it as chilling, but we may define ‘chilling’ differently. I knew the baddies were worth fearing, but it didn’t ruin the humour and the cleverness.. maybe that’s it?
Though Amanda being injected by the baddie and Lee rescuing her was a seriously intense little diversion into some darkness..
It was quickly remedied though by Amanda’s trip to Positano or something rofl!!! [and her lion hair 😉 ]

I am guessing we’ll be exploring this more as we head into season 4. I don’t remember the detail, but we are already seeing at the end of season 3 a different tone to smk. I think that holds up in season 4. but.. we’ll see..
I remember saying once that each season has something wonderful to offer – but they are quite different.
I’m not a fan of the darker, more realistic tone of the show as it ‘matures’ – because I miss the humour I guess.
But… I love to see Amanda blossom professionally, and to see Lee and Amanda’s relationship unfold so I still love season 4 (and the end of season 3 – just for different reasons. Of course, we can’t explore this in detail till we get to the end of season 4 I guess. [Yes!!!! we will get there!!! 🙂 ]
Raffie I hope you are still able to stop by and share your thoughts righ to the end! [I hope everyone can!!!]

So sorry, I somehow didn’t notice this post that was just before my hiatus. But yes, you’ve hit the nail on the head, Iwsod, regarding the nature of the humor and the baddies and how it changes. And yep, each season brings its own special flavor and I enjoy each of them!

Like the weird cream jacket with white sleeves Lee is wearing, this bit of plot filler is one of those things that you should never slow down and look at too carefully. God bless you Iwsod for having the patience to capture this without dying of boredom.

That is definitely Duffy, or Jack as I refer to him, in my S1 stats posts. And it’s hard to tell in the screen caps because of the sunglasses and profile view, but Candy is another SMK regular (or second Jill). Here she is in Triumvirate

I always wonder where these recurring extras come from. Do they get a call — “hey, come in for a day, we need you”? Or do they normally do something else on the set but sometimes get called upon to fill a bit part? No clue.

Yeah, maybe they had an agency they always called up and these actors were part of the pool. lol.

Or maybe Warner Bros had an inhouse pool of extras.. maybe we would see these extras on other tv shows filmed at the same time on the Warner Bros lot. lol. this could seriously become an obsession tracking all these sightings down!

whoooo I like this raffie, this idea of Skylar and his persona – makes sense to me!
I found his suddenly flat manner quite funny!

Then pow! we are back to hyped up over the top Skylar again!True – he is certainly putting on quite a show!

Interesting that Skylar now knows Pam was using the caravan to smuggle detonators (and a power trip) and yet this rally to see it all off continues. And there was no security around at the start to spot Pam getting in the truck? Quite lame of Skylar and the agency IMHO – the agency should have had agents under cover as the drivers!

I guess the was the plan was for Skylar to continue on and then nab Pam in the act? but then, the way Lee was talking on the phone to Billy it was like they were playing catch up??!!
Yes, I know.. don’t look at the plot too closely, but the flow of this ep is all over the shop IMHO.
It’s beginning to feel like a case of dumb 3 little spies and lucky baddie to even get this far..

Is Skylar trying to channel Don Johnson here? But it just looks like he’s in a lab coat because that jacket is just too long. And Skylar is a bit toothless. He really, really annoys me. “The most important event since the invention of the electric guitar”?? Smuggling nuclear detonators out the country is “far out”?? The word “asinine” comes to mind (I’ve also wanted to use that word 😉 ) He almost deserves to be tricked by Pam Jentry. Well, I’m not surprised she managed – I doubt it was difficult.

And on a side note: the off-white/cream jacket is an improvement on Lee’s pure white one from earlier. Clearly the SMK wardrobe people had it in for the SMK laundry people this week….

Yes, the outfit is wrong. I don’t recall Don Johnson having a jacket like that although he did wear white a lot. I’m sort of remembering other 80s bands doing that long jacket thing.

Skylar’s wrapped up in his own world. He doesn’t even know who the first lady is. He could have been in trouble with the law before, but I’m betting that’s the first time he’s ever encountered a federal agent. “Far out” just sounds like a juvenile response.

Agree, the whole episode seems to have a juvenile vibe. Skylar and his entourage are PG cardboard cut-outs of characters.. Lee trying to act cool “I’m hip” – ugh! Is that really the best you can do, Lee? Well, I guess it’s the best he could do in the child-friendly time slot.
So far this is one episode I just wish they’d never made.
Best part of this scene is Amanda looking like she thinks Skylar is just an annoying lightweight. Maybe KJ didn’t like the actor who played the role – looks like she’s just a hairsbreadth from really giving him the “evils”. 👿

He almost deserves to be tricked by Pam Jentry. Well, I’m not surprised she managed – I doubt it was difficult.

So true, and given what the agency, the agents and Skylar all now know – and yet the caravan starts, I’d say they all deserve to be tricked.
Billy couldn’t stop the planes from taking off? big deal.
Skylar could have stopped the caravan from starting in the first place!

I thought that looked like a lab coat, too! XD I kept thinking of Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb, how he wears a lab coat because he’s an evil scientist, but everyone mistakes him for a pharmacist.

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